Top climatologist and Members of the European Parliament at EU-ASE 6th Annual Dinner

“The sign of hope in the climate conversation is that we are all sitting here today to talk about climate.”

Kathleen van Brempt, MEP and Honorary Member of EU-ASE

On 18th September, the European Alliance to Save Energy held its 6th Annual Dinner debate. This year the event gathered EU-ASE business members and high-level guests including top climatologist Prof. Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, and MEPs Kathleen van Bremptand Bendt Bendtsen, both Honorary Members of EU-ASE.

“We can do it, we can change the point of view on climate and make EU countries have this in their minds.”

Bendt Bendsten, MEP and Honorary Member of EU-ASE

In his keynote speech, Professor van Ypersele confirmed that “limiting global temperature to 2ºC is outdated – we need more ambition” and underlined that a much more efficient use of energy and lifestyle changes towards energy consumption are key to tackle climate change. He also added that we are running short of time: “the more we wait, the more difficult it will be to reverse the problem.”

Following the keynote speech, the EU-ASE members welcomed Ms van Brempt, who underlined that “the sign of hope for the future is that we are all sitting here today to talk about climate“. Her speech was followed by Mr Bendtsen, who agreed with Prof. van Ypersele, stressing that the “ambition is still not high enough” and added that “it is still possible to change the view on climate issues of some EU countries”.

EU-ASE members took part to the debate to call for integration of the Energy Efficiency First principle into the EU Long-term Energy and Climate Strategy; a climate proof budget post 2020 to leverage private investments; and net zero emissions target by 2050 at the latest to pave the way towards a decarbonised economy.